


The Life of a Human

by MoonlightBreeze



Series: Whumptober 2020 [4]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Deviant Upgraded Connor | RK900, Explosions, Feelings Realization, Hurt Gavin Reed, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mild Blood, Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, Rescue, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has Feelings, Whumptober 2020, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:27:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26835913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightBreeze/pseuds/MoonlightBreeze
Summary: When Gavin is trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building, it's up to Nines to save him. It's also up to Nines to realise that something has to be done about the more-than-platonic feelings he houses for his partner.Whumptober 2020 prompt fic - Collapsed buildingWarnings for very mild blood and major character injury. Please keep yourselves safe! <3Happy/hopeful ending!
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Whumptober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950094
Comments: 6
Kudos: 121





	The Life of a Human

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! This is my second Reed900 Whumptober fic, written for the prompt: collapsed building. It can be read as a sequel of sorts to the previous Reed900 fic, The Life of an Android. (which can be found by clicking 'previous work' in this series) This is told from Nines' POV and details his growing feelings for Gavin. 
> 
> Warning for major character injury! Please read my tags and keep yourselves safe. <3
> 
> Without further ado, let's get on to the story! I really hope you like this!! Kudos make my day and comments validate my existence, so please feel free to leave those, if you want :) And as always, I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
> 
> ~ Em

The smell of rubble and dust lingered in the air, even after the explosion, and it made Nines want to vomit. He didn’t even think he _could_ vomit, but the remnants of what had once been a beautiful home tied his stomach into knots. But he had no time to think about that. Gavin was still missing. 

Nines stepped over the various piles of debris that littered the mansion’s floor, very nearly tripping over a broken piece of a chair. His thirium pump contracted in fear with every step he took that didn’t yield any results. He _had_ to find Gavin. 

The explosion had rocked the large building to its very foundation, and Nines had barely made it out alive. If he’d been a second slower, he would have been trapped underneath the rubble. That thought made his optical sensors glitch for a second or two, and he inhaled shakily. Being afraid to die was, no matter how often he was faced with it, still an awful feeling. 

He, as well as seven other DPD officers, had been able to make it outside before the house collapsed. He had thought Gavin was right behind him, was almost sure he felt the detective’s hand clenched around the tail of his jacket, but when the haze cleared, he was nowhere to be found. 

Nines didn’t think he could stand it if Gavin had been hurt, or worse, in the collapse. 

As much as he hated to admit it to anyone except himself in his private mind palace, Nines cared for Gavin a great deal. Their partnership had gotten off to a rough start, but they were better now. _Gavin_ was better now. Nines’ social module might be underdeveloped, but even he could tell that there was no heat behind Gavin’s insults, no demand behind his incessant coffee orders, no malice behind his rude, sarcastic comments. Not anymore. Nines would even go so far as to say that they were friends. 

And friends, Nines admitted to himself, were a precious thing. He didn’t want to lose a friend. He didn’t want to lose Gavin. He _couldn’t_. 

After combing the first floor diligently, Nines ascended what remained of the wooden staircase. Gavin must be upstairs; he _had_ to be. His processors spun quicker than Nines was used to as they scanned every inch of space he could see, the android hoping with all of his might to catch sight of a lock of dark brown or a flash of bright blue. Nines’ white jacket was grey with dust and grime, and he knew that the haze from the collapse was thick enough to make it hard for a human to breathe. His optical unit spat out a red error message at that thought. 

The mansion was huge, and Nines was afraid, more afraid than he could ever remember being before. What if he didn’t find Gavn in time? What if Gavin was buried in a pile of rubble somewhere, unable to breathe or call for help? What if Nines was already too late?

Nines staggered a step, reacting to the visual and auditory warnings his software had given him; his stress levels were getting too high. He grit his teeth and forced his system to recalibrate and focus on the mission at hand. He couldn't afford to think that way. He’d run the risk of slipping into stasis, and Gavin needed him right now.

Nines reached into his memory and activated a few emergency protocols; designed to enhance his senses during times of peril, the added vision and auditory prowess could help him find Gavin. 

Meticulously but swiftly (the ever-pressing fear of being too late pressed on his chassis, making his chest feel tight and heavy), Nines investigated every room on the top floor, passing through one and into the next in the space of a few seconds. With each empty room, his hopes fell lower and lower. He was about to visit his mind palace, try and decide a course of action to follow next, when a pile of rubble near the balcony of the master suite began to move. 

Nines rushed over, LED spinning red, not daring to hope. 

A muffled groan could be heard through the debris pile, and Nines called out, "Gavin? Gavin, is that you?!"

"Mmmph," was the only response he got, but Nines' processors were able to detect Gavin's familiar voice. It sent a rush of relief rippling over his synthskin, and he began to dig furiously. 

"I'm going to get you out of there," Nines promised. He grabbed for the large piece of metal that was pinning the human down and lifted it, tossing it away effortlessly. He attacked the rest of the rubble pile that surrounded Gavin with vigor, flinging chunks of concrete away from him. After a few more minutes of this, finally he could see his partner clearly. 

Nines shoved aside the bits of splintered furniture and chandelier crystals that had fallen on top of Gavin, giving his partner a onceover. He didn't look like he could move, which made Nines' thirium pump tighten painfully in his chest. Gavin's shirt and jacket were torn, his back riddled with cuts and wounds, some of them rather severe. Blood dripped onto the bedroom carpet from a large cut on his forehead. His face was bruised and Nines spied a piece of glass embedded in his partner’s arm. He winced and moved closer, reaching for Gavin’s wrist to inspect the damage.

"N-Nines," Gavin slurred out, seemingly noticing his presence in the room for the first time. "Nines!"

"I'm right here, Gavin," Nines reassured him. "Come on, we're going to get you out of here.”

Careful of his injuries, Nines wrapped one arm around Gavin's back and the other behind his knees and lifted him, bridal-style, into his arms. A frown pinched Nines' face when Gavin didn't complain, as he usually would, but rather tucked his head into the crook of Nines' neck and allowed himself to be carried. 

Nines took the flight of stairs two at a time. He knew his hands were shaking where they were holding Gavin, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Gavin coughed, and Nines' system seized.

Nines thanked RA9 that his biocomponents weren’t damaged in the explosion; he didn't know what he would've done if he hadn't been able to free Gavin from the rubble. 

Gavin let out a low, muffled sound of pain against Nines' neck, and the android tried to walk faster. They were close to the entrance now. All the while, he whispered sweet nothings into the dust-filled air and held Gavin tighter in his arms. 

Nines took a deep, unnecessary breath and steadied himself. Just a few more steps, and they would be out of the building and into the waiting ambulance. Just a few more steps.

Rubble crunched under his feet as Nines picked his way through the sitting room and out the front door, staggering down the explosion-burnt concrete steps.The instant he felt the sunlight on his face, he sagged with relief and crashed to his knees, supporting Gavin’s weight on his lap with one hand behind his head. Relief poured over him as the paramedics raced over, gently maneuvering Gavin onto a stretcher and into the waiting ambulance. Nines climbed in with them, clutching Gavin’s hand like a lifeline.

In a way, Nines supposed, it was.

He wasn’t sure when the tables had turned, when Nines had started having feelings for his partner. He did know that he had never felt this way about another person before. Sitting in the back of an ambulance with Gavin’s hand in his, it was suddenly and extremely apparent to Nines that the litany of emotions - fear, devastation, panic, _love_ \- he had experienced in the past fifteen minutes could only be attributed to one thing.

Nines was afraid. He was afraid for Gavin. He didn’t want Gavin to die.

With that irrefutable knowledge swimming in the back of his mind, Nines placed a soft kiss to Gavin’s forehead and waited. They would be okay. He knew they would. And when Gavin was fixed up and back to his usual sarcastic self, Nines had a few things that he wanted to say to the human. 

The soft squeeze that Gavin gave Nines' hand made Nines think that maybe, just maybe, he had a few things to say, as well. 

**Author's Note:**

> [Stalk me on Tumblr](http://moonlight-breeze-44.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Prompts are open! (I am now accepting DBH and DE prompts! Any ship is welcome. Please note that I will be VERY slow with my prompts; this month and the two after that are extremely busy for me. Thanks for your patience! <3)


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